Resilient wheel.



M. -F. KETTLER.

RESILIENT WHEEL. APPLICATION FILED FEB-251.1915- 1,172,610. Patented Feb.22, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET!- 7 GEM/inn 5 M. F. 'KETTLER. RESILIENT WHEEL. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 25, I915.

Patented Feb. 22, 1916.

3 SHEET$-SHEET 2.

anmwtloc u n u E i I Wihmmaan M. F. KETTLER. RESlLIENT WHEEL. APPLICATION FILED FEB.25, 1915.

Patented Feb. 22, 191k 3 SHEETSSHEET 3 Lil-32,610.

ha rs sra rss rarer mes.

MARTIN F. KETTLER, OF HOUSTON. TEXAS, ASSIGNOR TO DOW NING PhlEUl /IATIC WHEEL COMPANY, OF HOUSTON, TEXAS.

RESILIENT WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb 22, 19316.

Application filelebruary 25, 1915. Serial No. 10,499.

"a all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARTIN F. Knrrnnn,

a citizen of the United States residing at Houston, in the county of Harris and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Imprcwements in Resilient Vs'heels, oi which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to resilient wheels and more particularly to that type embodying a hub, a floating spoke carrying rim, and a pneumatic cushion interposed between the hub and rim. v 7

It is one aim of the invention to so con struct and relatively arrange the rim and the pneumatic cushion that the spokes carried by the rim may be of maximum length to render the wheel less clumsy in appearance and the pneumatic cushion may he of maximum cross sectional diameter whereby to secure the desired cushioning etlect.

Another aim of the invention is to so construct the rim and cushion that the portion of the cushion which contacts with the rim will not be liable to become worn through.

The invention aims further to disclose. a

novel construction of floating rim and.

spokes, these parts being integral and of hollow sheet metal construction. 1n the accom )anvini. drawm s: F1 ure 1 1s a side elevation of the wheel embodying: the present invention. Fig. is a vertical k A A 2 i transier'e sectionil view therethrough on n O Kipp] i ll n a Q l the i111 or l i 1 1g 3 is I \LItlCl sectional view on the line 33 ot Fig. Fig. i is a perspective \IQW of a portion ot the pneumatic cushion. I l igz. 5 is a perspective View of a portion of the floating run and spokes carried therebv.

'cyliiulrical and is formed at one enil of its said portion with an annular outstanding flange 2, to which is bolted or otherwise secured a casing plate 3 and the web of a brake drum At the other end of its cylindrical intermediate portion the hub exteriorly scren"threaded as at 5 for a purpose to be presently explained. liemovably fitted upon the cylindrical portion of the hub is a bean.

ing member comprising conical. sections 6 which are so arranged that their minor ends will abut and the major end of-one of the sections will abut against the flange 2.

A ring nut? is threaded onto the portion 5 of the hubeand bears against the major end of the other conical section of the bearing member and a key 8 is provided forconnecting the sections for. rotation with the hub.

Disposed to surround thebearing member is a seating member for the pneumatic cushion of the wheel, and this seating memher comprises assembled annular sections 9. each provided at itsouter end with spaced flanges 10 which project inwardly and have their inner edges beveled to conform to the surface of the respective sections of the hearing inemben- Each section 8) of the seating member is -n-ovidml with a flange ll and the pnemnatic cushion to be presently described is seated between the flanges and surrounds the said sections. The sections 9 are connected by means of bolts 12 which are secured through their flanges 10 in the manner clearly shown in Fig. 2 of thudraw'inc's, and it is preferable that the mug" pass also through sparing collars l3 interposed be-' metal and the sections comprising the seating member being; preferably.of steel. The sections oi the seating member so it the sections of the bearnrc member that the seatin member may creep about the said bearing member and it will be understood that by providing means for supplying lubricant to the contacting surfaces 0t these two mem hers and by forming one member of bronze metal and the other of steel. wear is reduced to a minimum; I

The plate 3 constitutes one side of a casing which houses the pneumatic cushion and the floating spoke riin and the other side of this casing is formed in sect ons as will now he explained. One section of the lastmen-. tioned side of the casing is in the nature of a plate Ll which is removahly fitted upon the threaded portion oi the huh 1 and rests against the ring nut T. The other section of the said side of the casing is in the form of an annular plate 15 disposed concentrically with relation to the plate 1-1 and these two plates are provided respectively with flanges 16 and. 17 which engage with each other in the manner shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. In order that the plate 14. may be held. in place upon the hub an annular plate 18 is fitted upon the threaded portion of the hub and bears against the outer side of the plate 14 and a ring nut 19 is threaded upon the said portion of the hub and may be tightened to cause the said plate 18 to firmly bind the plate 11 against the nut T. For a purpose to be presently explained. the plate 14 is provided with a circular series of openings 20 which are. normally covered by the plate 18.

The pneumatic cushion forming a part of the present invention comprises an inner inflatable tube 21 and a casing which is open at its inner side and receives the inflatable tube substantially in the same manner as does the. ordinary clencher casin The inner portion of the casing 22 is received between the flanges 11 of the seat inn member previously described, and at 'its outer side the casing is thickened. as indicated at and is exterior-1y substantially circumferentially cylindrical. this surface of the casing being indicated at 21. For a purpose which will he presently made clear the thickened portion 93 of the casing of the pneumatic cushion is formed at intervals in its circumference with transverse approxinmtely semi cylimlrical seats or depressions 25 and in order that these seats may be relatively deep it is preferable that the casing at points of location of the seats be-ot the cross sectional :form shown at 26 in Fig. '2 of the drawings. More specifically stated. the seats 01- depressions 25 extend not only into the thickened portion 239]. the casing but also to a slight extent radially inwardly of this portion. i

The floating rim heretofore referred to is of hollow shcetmetal construction and 111-. eludes sidesfll'. an lnner wall 28 and air outer wall 29. the walls 28 and 29 being. generally speaking. concentric to each other and the side walls 27 being parallel to each other. At intervals the wall 28 of the rim is stamped in or otherwise provided with drawings. and it is for this purpose thal the seats 7 are provided. llollow spokes 31 are formed integral with the outer wall 29 of the rim, the said wall 29 constituting.

an integral connection between the inner ends of the spokes. The outer ends of the spokes are connected by integral web portions 32 which coustitntethc Foundation for the outer or tire. carrying rim of the wheel. The web portions FlLl constitute curvilinear co ltinuations of the metal comprising! the hollow spokes 31. I

The outer or tire carrying rim is indicated by the numeral 33 and may be of any desired form and this rim disposed to surround the outer cuds oi. thespokes ill and disconnecting web portions 32 and is socured in place by welding: or any other suit: able method or' means. This rim supports an ordinary rubber tire 34.

In order that the floating spoke rim may be connected for rotation with the casing: plates and hub. sleeves 35 are arranged at intervals within the said floating rim and have open ends which are secured within openings 36 formed in the side walls 27 ot' g.-

the said rim. These sleeves are relativel large in diameter and their inner sides are received within the seats 30 Forn'ied in thrinner wall of the said rim. their outermost sides substantially touching the circle described by the outer wall 29 of the rim. Bolts 37 are secured throughthe casing plate 3 and the section 15 ot'the other casing plate. and these bolts extend through the sleeves 35 and each bolt has rotatably fitted.

upon its intermediate portion a sleeve 38 of bronze metal carry 1;: a soft rubber buffer 3!) which is secured to the sleeve in any suitable. manner. The hull'crs 39 are externally of a diameter less than the. internal diameter of the respective sleeves and it will he understood that wvhen the hub is rotated. rear *ardly or forwardly. the bufl'ers will be brought into contact with the walls of the respective sleeves focthc purpose of connecting the floating rim with the casino plates and hub. ed ontothe bolts 37 and bear respectively against the outer face of the casing plate :5 i other casing plate. and in order that the sec: 1

and the outer face of the section 15 of the tion 14 of the last mentioned casing plate inapgbc ecurcd at its periphery to the sec tion -'l thereol locking collars 42 are provided and are rotatablvmounted upon the outer ends of the bolts 37 and are held in place by means of nuts 43 threaded upon,

Nuts 40 and 41 are thread lift .46, the casing plate section 47, the sleenes 48 are arinseam the plate ll against the outer face of the plate l5 and each flange at its opposite side is flattened asat to so that when the nut {t3 is loosened, the respective collar may be moved outwardly andthen rotated to present its flattened side 45 to the periphery of the plate 141: so as to permit of removal of this plate after the platelS and nuthave been removed and without the necessity of entirely removing the nuts 43 and their re spective locking collarsw From the foregoing it will be apparent that by providing the seats '25 in the pneumatic cushion and the seats in the inner wall 28 of the floating rim, the sleeves may be located nearer the hub tl an would otherwise be possible unless the pneumatic cushion were of considerably less diameter than here shown. l or this reason the spokes 31 may be of maximum length'and;the floating rim may be of minimum diameter and, on the other hand, the sleeve 35 may be of maximum'diameter as also the pneumatic cushion. This compact arrangement of the parts renders the wheel less bulky and clumsy in appearance and yet the desired cushioning efiect is ob tained. p

It will furthermgre be apparent from the foregoing that due to the peculiar construction of the floating rim and spokes and the manner in which the inner and outer ends of the spokes are connected, an extremely light and yet strong structure is obtained.

In the event that the pneumatic cushion for any reason becomes deflated, it is necessary or at least desirable to have the floating rim and hub connected in such manner that the twowill rotate in unison. In order that this may be accomplished the casing plate 3 is formed at intervals with stamped out seats 15 is formed with threaded apertures ranged at corresponding intervals circumterentially within the floating rim and extend at their ends through the side walls thereof, and a bolt 49, such as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, may be fitted through each aperture i7, SlB\8 l8, and at its end into the corersponding socket or seat 46, the bolt being threaded adjacent its headed end so as to thread. into the opening i7. lVhen these bolts are not in use a threaded plug is employed for the purpose of closing the apertures l7.

in order that the inflatable tube 31 may be inflated, there is provided a valve having a stem 51 extending laterally through the flanges ll) of one of the sections of the seating member andadapte-cl to have its open end it 'zated opposite one or another of the openings 20 in thecasing plate section 14. It will be apparent that by removing the nut 19 and the plate 18 a pump tube may be applied "to this valve stem and that after the inner tube has been inflated, the plate 18 may be again fitted into place so as to cover the openings. Having thus described the invention, what is claimed asnew is:

1. In a wheel or the class described, a hub, casing plates carried by the hub, a floating spoke rim disposed between the casing plates, the rim being formed interiorly at intervals with seats extending inwardly from its inner side, abutment members housed within the rim and in said seats, buffer members cari 'ied by the said casing plates and cooperating with said abutment members, and a pneumatic cushion inter posed between the rim and hub and having depressions receivingthe said seats upon the rim.-

2. In a wheel of the class cussing plates carried by the hub, a hollow floating spoke rim disposed between the casat intervals with seats bulging inwardly from its inner side, abutment sleeves housed within the rim and partly within the said seats, buffer members carried by said casing plates and cooperating with said abutment sleeves, and a. pneumatic cushion interposed between the rim and hub and having depressions receiving said seats upon the rim.

3. In a wheel of the class described, a hub,

' casing plates carried by the hub, a floating spoke rim disposed between the casing" plates, the rim being formed interiorly at intervals with seats extending inwardly from its inner side, abutment members housed within the rim and in said seats,

buffer members carried by the said casing plates and cooperating with said abutment members, and a pneumatic cushion inter-' posed between the rim and hub, that portionof the cushion which contacts vith the rim being thickened and being jormed with depressions receiving the said seat s of the rim.

4. In a wheel. of the class described, a hub, casing plates carired bythe hub, a floating spoke rim disposed betweenthe casing plates, the rim being formed interiorly at intervals with substantially semi-cylindrical seats projecting inwardly from its inner side in the direction oi,the axis of the wheel, abutment sleeves disposed within the concavities ot the seats, buffer members carried between the casing plates and extending within the said sleeves and of a diameter less than the diameter of the sleeves, and a pneumatic cushion interposed between the rim and hub and having its periphery formed at intervals to receive the saidscats upon the rim.

J). In a wheel of the class described, a hub, casing plates carried by the hub, a floating spoke rim surrounding said hub, the rim' being formed interior-1y at intervals with ing plates, the rim. being formed interiorly portions bulged in the direction of the axis thereof, abutment members dlspesed wlthm the COHCLUIUQS of the said bulged portions and within the said rim, buffer members carmed by the cusmgpiatesvand arranged for coiiperation with tha abutment members, and a PHEUZHQUC cusluon interposed between the mm and the hub and formed in its outer 

